Tag: Parliamentary Question

Alex Cunningham – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Alex Cunningham on 2016-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what powers she intends to extend to farmers in relation to the dredging of watercourses on their land.

Rory Stewart

The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 were laid before Parliament on 2 February. Subject to parliamentary approval, from April the Regulations will remove a number of low risk activities from the need for a flood defence consent permit from the Environment Agency, enabling it to focus on the highest risk activities. This includes allowing farmers to maintain ditches up to 1.5km long subject to a number of conditions.

01/01/2023

Jonathan Ashworth – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jonathan Ashworth on 2016-03-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many and what proportion of officials of his Department took sick leave for reasons relating to stress in each of the last five years; and what proportion of total sick leave that leave was in each such year.

Mr Edward Vaizey

The average days’ sickness absence per full time equivalent employed by DCMS during the last financial year was 2.0 days.

The Civil Service takes a holistic approach to managing sick absence and improving wellbeing and we have focussed on specific actions to reduce the incidence of mental disorders, including stress related absence. This includes

early referral to occupational health experts, particularly for mental health, stress or musculoskeletal conditions,
early referral to Employee Assistance Programmes (EAP) for CBT based counselling support for mental health issues,
workplace adjustments that help to prevent conditions from developing or worsening, whilst reducing the barriers to work for those affected by mental or physical impairments,
extensive training for managers and employees including on disability and mental health awareness, well-being, resilience and stress.

Financial Year	Number of officials who took sick leave for reasons relating to stress	Proportion of officials who took sick leave for reasons relating to stress	Proportion of total sick such sick leave was in the department
Apr 14 – Mar 15	1	0.2%	0.5%
Apr 13 – Mar 14	2	0.5%	0.9%
Apr 12 – Mar 13	3	0.8%	1.2%
Apr 11 – Mar 12	5	1.1%	2.1%
Apr 10 – Mar 11	6	1.4%	2.5%

Background

We have reported on the average sickness absence in the annual report (link) and do not specifically report on sickness absence due to stress.

The DCMS sick absence data is low in comparison with the Civil Service average of 7.4 Average Working Days Lost. We do not have any evidence to know why this is. HR continues to remind all staff and managers of the importance of accurate and prompt recording on the HR system.

Financial Year	Number of officials who took sick leave for reasons relating to stress	Proportion of officials who took sick leave for reasons relating to stress	Department FTE	Total sickness in department	Percentage of staff who took Stress Related Absence against total staff who recorded a sick absence
Apr 14 – Mar 15	1	0.2%	461	203	0.5%
Apr 13 – Mar 14	2	0.5%	381	234	0.9%
Apr 12 – Mar 13	3	0.8%	376	259	1.2%
Apr 11 – Mar 12	5	1.1%	457	243	2.1%
Apr 10 – Mar 11	6	1.4%	443	242	2.5%

¹Department FTE from DCMS Annual Report & Accounts 2010-11 and 2014-15

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01/01/2023

Jeremy Lefroy – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jeremy Lefroy on 2016-04-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many payments under the Basic Payments Scheme 2015 had not been made to farmers in Stafford constituency by the Rural Payments Agency by 31 March 2016.

George Eustice

As of 31 March 2016, the Rural Payments Agency had paid 168 (80%) of the 211 eligible Basic Payment Scheme 2015 claims received in Stafford constituency. To date 191 had been paid and the agency has announced that those customers who do not receive a claim payment in April will be provided a bridging payment. Bridging payments will be around half of their claim value.

01/01/2023
Lord Jopling – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Jopling on 2016-05-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Price on 10 May (HL8062), whether that answer assumes that the United States Congress will accept a fast-track” procedure for ratifying the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership; and what assessment they have made of the likelihood of such a procedure being either endorsed or withdrawn by the new Congress in 2017.”

Lord Price

Legislation to re-authorise Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) – sometimes called “fast track” – the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015, was signed into law by President Obama on 29 June 2015. It will apply to certain international trade agreements – including the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership – if agreement is reached before 1 July 2018.

01/01/2023
Tom Watson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Cabinet Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Tom Watson on 2016-07-12.

To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many officials of the Infrastructure and Projects Authority are employed on temporary contracts.

Ben Gummer

The infrastructure and Projects Authority currently has 37 people within the business on Fixed Term Appointments.

01/01/2023
Patrick Grady – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Patrick Grady on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect of recent events in Sudan on the success of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur.

Mr Tobias Ellwood

The UK remains supportive of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD). Through our membership of the Implementation Follow-Up Commission (IFC), we consider regularly what progress has been made on implementation of the DDPD and what further steps need to be taken. The former UK Special Representative for Sudan and South Sudan attended the last meeting of the IFC in May.

In parallel with this, we continue to urge all parties to the conflict to engage with the African Union-led peace process and reach agreement on the cessation of hostilities and humanitarian access, building on the decisions of both the Government of Sudan and the Opposition to sign the Roadmap peace agreement.

01/01/2023
Baroness Helic – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Helic on 2015-11-17.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they support the Euro-Atlantic integration process for Bosnia-Herzegovina, set out in the 2014 UN Security Council Resolution No. 2183.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns

The British Government is a firm advocate of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s (BiH) Euro-Atlantic integration. The UK-Germany initiative, launched a year ago (and adopted by the EU), was designed to stimulate reform and energise BiH’s EU perspective. The entry into force of the EU-BiH Stabilisation and Association Agreement on 1 June 2015 marks an important initial step. On the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, the Government continues to encourage BiH to enhance its efforts to meet the requirements to proceed with its Membership Action Plan.

01/01/2023
Paul Scully – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Scully on 2015-12-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what progress his Department has made on implementing the plan for community pharmacists to access Summary Care Records; and if he will make a statement.

George Freeman

NHS England is now working with stakeholders to develop guidance and the arrangements for deployment so that all community pharmacists in England have access to the Summary Care Record. As this continues to be rolled out, it will enable more pharmacies to provide increased clinical services, helping to reduce the burden on other health and social care providers.

01/01/2023
Lord Alton of Liverpool – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Alton of Liverpool on 2016-01-26.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has made of recent research suggesting that the eggs of older women can be rejuvenated through injections of mitochondria from other cells; what data collected from clinics the HFEA holds regarding the incidence of aneuploidy in oocytes over time, and what evidence it has received from (1) OvaScience, (2) Professor Simon Fishel, and (3) other sources, that mitochondrial defects are primarily responsible for age-related exponential increases in oocyte aneuploidy; what published randomised trials the HFEA has been made aware of regarding the Augment technique, and what assessment it has made of those trials; and what assessment the HFEA has made of the credibility of claims by OvaScience and those previously made by Clonaid, in the light of data available in peer-reviewed journals.

Lord Prior of Brampton

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) advises that it does not hold data from clinics on the incidence of aneuploidy in oocytes over time, nor has it received evidence from OvaScience, Professor Simon Fishel or other sources that mitochondrial defects are primarily responsible for age-related increases in oocyte chromosomal aneuploidy.

The HFEA also advises that it has not been made aware of any published randomised trials regarding the Augment technique and has not made an assessment of the credibility of claims by OvaScience and those previously made by Clonaid, in the light of data available in peer-reviewed journals. It is currently considering whether techniques, which involve addition of autologous mitochondria to eggs, would be legal in the United Kingdom (under the framework of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, as amended). Part of this consideration involves considering the claims made for Augment by Ovascience.

The HFEA has not received any formal applications for clinical use of the Augment technique, and has not made an assessment of the ruling by the US Food and Drugs Administration to which the Noble Lord refers.

01/01/2023
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 2016-02-23.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what general steps they plan to take to ensure that all schools change their admission arrangements in line with recommendations by the Office of the Schools Adjudicator.

Lord Nash

Where the Schools Adjudicator determines that a school’s admission arrangements do not comply with the School Admissions Code, the admission authority has a statutory duty to revise its admission arrangements. The school must comply with the Adjudicator’s decision within two months of the decision or by 28 February following the decision, whichever is sooner, unless an alternative timescale is specified by the Adjudicator.

An Adjudicator’s decision is binding and enforceable by the Secretary of State.

01/01/2023